Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Mardi Gras Means Pancakes... Ok, not really... Mardi Gras actually means Fat Tuesday, or more precisely, Fat Mars-day. The Romans dedicated the second day of the week to the planet named for their war god, Mars. The closest Norse equivalent to Mars was Tyr, or Tiw. Hence it became Tuesday in English and Mardi Gras… Continue reading The Daily: 3 March 2025
If Matthew finds ice, he breaks it. When the cat lies in sunshine in February If he doesn’t break it, he makes it all the harder. she'll creep behind the stove in March. St Matthias with his ice breaker... If there is sharp frost on Matthew’s Day, it will last till March. The fox is… Continue reading The Daily: 24 February 2025
There's almost four feet of snow on my garden now. And a "major nor'easter" to hit midweek. I am not sure how the past weekend's nor'easter was not major, given that it snowed more or less continuously from Saturday afternoon to this morning. (It is probably still snowing as some of you read this.) There… Continue reading The Daily: 17 February 2025
The Snow Moon is certainly living up to its name this year. But then, the Wolf Moon was snowy also. In fact, there have been only a handful of days in 2025 when it was not snowing here in central Vermont — and only a couple days above freezing. So the garden is deeply buried… Continue reading The Daily: 10 February 2025
Tomorrow is the first 10-hour day in central Vermont. Despite Punxsutawney Phil's forecast for six more weeks of winter in 2025, it is time to start thinking about the growing season. For me, it is time to sort the seeds, check the seed potatoes, toss the inevitable pantry rot, and clean up the weeks of… Continue reading The Daily: 3 February 2025
If Candlemas be bright and clear there'll be two winters in the year. — traditional adage from Scotland Of Candles and Divinatory Beasts There are many weather marking days throughout the year. Candlemas, falling on 2 February, was the day that our ancestors began to get nervous about the spring. A fine Candlemas portends a… Continue reading The Daily: 2 February 2025
If Brigid visited your house with a blessing last night, show her your gratitude by beginning your spring cleaning in her honor. If you have a woodstove, today is a good day to clean out the ashes and begin spreading them on your garden beds. (If you live where the soils are already saline, especially… Continue reading The Daily: 1 February 2025
It's that time of year when I have to remind myself to eat... at least once a day. I'm just not that hungry in the late winter, especially in the morning. Breakfast is right out. Dinner is more of a snack. And there are some days when I am getting ready to brush my teeth… Continue reading The Daily: 27 January 2025
Today, we are not talking about the travesty of an inauguration that is happening somewhat south of here. I am doing my utmost to draw lines around my world and stay within those lines. I am not paying attention to things that I can't change and that don't truly affect me directly anyway. On that… Continue reading The Daily: 20 January 2025
Distaff Day, or St. Distaff’s Day, is an obscure and faded custom that has rather a bit more weight behind it that one might expect. The day is observed most often on January 7th, the day after Epiphany, the last day of the winter holidays. Less commonly, Distaff Day falls on the first Tuesday after Epiphany, being known as Distaff Tuesday in keeping with Plough Monday.
By My Solitary Hearth 